Fisheries Subsidies: 2021 Refresher Sessions
The International Institute for Sustainable Development organized two refresher sessions on World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on fisheries subsidies, held on January 28 and 29, 2021.
The first session, "State of Play in Negotiations," provided participants with a clear overview of the state of play in WTO negotiations on fisheries subsidies, summarizing the progress made so far and highlighting the key decisions in front of WTO Members with respect to the different disciplines based on the Chair’s draft consolidated text circulated on December 18, 2020. It was designed to support new delegates or those who have not followed negotiations closely in getting up to speed on the fisheries subsidies negotiating process.
In the second session, “Assessing Options for Combining Prohibitions with Exceptions,” a number of experts provided specific information from various sources to help delegates assess options for combining subsidy prohibitions with possible exceptions. In particular, the information presented shed light on the scope of possible carve-outs from the rules under discussion at the WTO.